Translation commentary on Proverbs 21:13

This saying is a form of the Golden Rule: “Do for others what you want them to do for you.” It refers to meeting the most basic of human needs, those for food and the necessities of life.

“He who closes his ear to the cry of the poor”: New Revised Standard Version revises this to express the line as a conditional clause, “If you close your ear. . ..” Many other translations take this same approach. To “close your ear” is a figurative way of saying “you refuse to listen” (New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation), which means in practice that “you won’t help” (Contemporary English Version). “The cry of the poor” is their urgent request for help.

“Will himself cry out and not be heard”: “Himself” represents a Hebrew expression that means something like “he too. . ..” It emphasizes the fact that the person who behaves as described in the first line will be treated in the same way himself. “He in turn” is another way to express this in English. “Cry out” is a different Hebrew word than “cry” in the first line, but the sense is the same: it means a cry for help in a time of need. One translation, for example, says, “when later on you are in trouble and cry for somebody to help you. . ..” “And not be heard” is passive in form; it may be expressed as “people will not hear your cry for help either” or “you . . . will get no answer.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

complete verse (Proverbs 21:13)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 21:13:

  • Kupsabiny: “A person who does not listen to a poor man who cries for help,
    he, too, will not be listened to when he is crying for help.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “If anyone does not listen
    to the weeping of the helpless,
    no one will listen
    to the sound of his weeping either.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “If you (sing.) do- not -pay-attention to the poor when they ask for help, you (sing.) will- also -be-ignored when you (sing.) ask for help.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The one who does not pay-attention-to the poor who begs-for-mercy, the time will also arrive when he begs-for-mercy and nobody will help him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “There are people who refuse to listen when poor people cry out for help;
    but some day they themselves will cry out for help, and no one will hear them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 21:13

21:13

In this proverb, the second line gives the consequence of the action in the first line.

13a Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,

13b he too shall cry out and receive no answer.

The proverb serves as a warning that those who show no mercy to the poor will receive no mercy themselves.

21:13a

Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor: The phrase shuts his ears to is a figure of speech. It refers here to a person who deliberately refuses to heed the cry of the poor. He ignores a poor person’s desperate plea for help, probably for money, food, or justice. The verse does not specify what kind of help the poor person is pleading for. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

Whoever ignores the poor when they cry for help (New Century Version)
-or-
If you refuse to listen when a poor person pleads for you to help him

21:13b

he too shall cry out and receive no answer: This clause refers to the person in 21:13a who refuses to help the poor. It implies that there will be a time when that person finds himself in need. At that time, he will also cry out for help, but no one will respond.

The verse does not make explicit whether this person pleads to the LORD or to another person. If possible, leave it ambiguous. If you need to specify, the parallel with 21:13a makes it probable that the one whom he addresses is another person.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

will also cry for help and not be answered (New Century Version)
-or-
don’t expect to be heard when you cry out for help (Contemporary English Version)

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